Fluid stream sensing device

ABSTRACT

A fluid stream sensing device has a casing and therein a transparent measuring tube and within the same a sensing body arranged to be floated by incoming fluid stream and lifted by same to a level being representative of the parameters of said stream to be measured. The tube is provided with a series of compensating openings on a line parallel to the longitudinal tube axis, and the tube is composed of easily assemblable shells.

United States Patent von Obstfelder [451 Sept. 26, 1972 [54] FLUIDSTREAM SENSING DEVICE [72] inventor: Heinz-Jurgen von Obstfelder,Speldorf Birkenstr. 15, 433 Mulheim/Ruhr, Germany [22] Filed: Oct. 26,1970 211 Appl. No.: 84,043

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data 3,208,284 9/1965 Rivero ..73/4013,436,500 4/1969 Culbert ..73/401 2,130,981 9/1938 Fischer et a1...73/209 2,003,474 6/1935 Schweitzer ..73/208 3,141,331 7/1964 Wilson..73/209 Primary Examiner-James J. Gill Assistant Examiner-HerbertGoldstein Att0rneyErnest F. Marmorek [5 7] ABSTRACT A fluid streamsensing device has a casing and therein a transparent measuring tube andwithin the same a sensing body arranged to be floated by incoming fluidstream and lifted by same to a level being representative of theparameters of said stream to be measured. The tube is provided with aseries of compensating openings on a line parallel to the longitudinaltube axis, and the tube is composed of easily assemblable shells.

4 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures FLUID STREAM SENSING DEVICE BACKGROUND OFTHE INVENTION The invention relates to a device serviceable for sensingthe fluid flow intensity by a sensing body floatable within atransparent measuring tube by an incoming fluid stream. The float levelsreached are indicative of said stream characteristics. Said sensing bodyis heavier than the fluid to be tested. A series of regularly spacedoutflow openings is provided in said tube on a line parallel to itslongitudinal axis. In response to the fluid flow parameters, saidsensing body, in being lifted, frees a number of said outflow openingscompensating the fluid pressure and allowing the fluid to flow throughthe annular space between said measuring tube and said casing outside.

it is well known in this art to provide measuring floating bodiespreferably shaped as balls, because this shape allows the body to slideconveniently. within a measuring and sensing tube of the apparatus. Thisshape effectively prevents the settling of impurity sediments upon theball. (See German Pat. No. 1,180,890).

Sensing and measuring tubes have been known which are inserted withinopposite holding arrangements which exert axial and elastic pressureupon said tubes for maintaining them in position and assembled alsounder the impact of the fluid stream. In some corresponding mechanisms,these holding arrangements serve contemporarily for attaching fluidinflux and/or discharge conduits to the device casing. (See German Pat.No. 1,202,513). According to this prior art arrangement, the inventionscomprise holding means that provide influx and discharge conduits, andthe measuring'and sensing tube is provided in its upper portion with apartition wall and has its top space arranged to serve as an outlet ordischarge.

For obtaining fluid stream testing and/or sensing devices of this kindwith an inner measuring and sensing tube of this-type, a lot of workneeds to be spent on the manufacture of all the assemblage components ofthe measuring and sensing tube. This is particularly due to the need ofproviding in said tubes appropriate openings, either holes or slots,being points of the measuring scale. These openings have been preparedby way of drilling and other outer surface operations. A

' further problem arises with regard to these devices where a partitionwall is mounted in said tubes.

Furthermore, in said known devices the cleaning of said tubes fromlayers of soiling particles is difficult, especially where the tubes arenarrow.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:

it is accordingly among the objects of this invention toimprove theabove mentioned fluid sensing devices by provision of a transparentmeasuring and sensing tube lightly assemblable from longitudinal moldedshells. Said tube is housed in a transparent tubular casing carryingterminal closing caps with external peripherally ridged extensions forattachment of influx and/or discharge conduit hoses. Within said casing,between these extensions, there is axially aligned and mounted on themeasuring and sensing tube that has a similar diameter than the casing,and the tube is provided with lateral openings. In the upper region ofthe casing, said tube carries a partition wall. In the lower portion ofsaid measuring and sensing tube a floating body is slidably arranged.This body is lifted to higher positions in response to the flow of theincoming fluid and opens, in moving upwardly, a number of said openings.The height reached by said sensing floating body is indicative of saidfluid flow parameters.

Another object of the invention is to overcome the above mentioneddrawbacks of the devices of this kind of the prior art.

A further object of this invention is to provide a fluid stream sensingdevice including components, such as the measuring and sensing tube, thecasing and the terminal caps, which can be manufactured easily yet withgreat precision, can be cleaned without difficulty, and

is simple to dismount and to reassemble.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a fluid flow sensingdevice that has an outer transparent cylindrical casing, an internal,preferably transparent, measuring and sensing tube with a series ofdischarge openings disposed along the device axis, and inside thismeasuring and sensing tube a sliding body heavier than the fluid to besensed. The body frees, in being floated by the incoming fluid stream, anumber of said discharge openings commensurate to the pressure andintensity of streaming velocity of the fluid stream measured, whichnumber is representative of said values. In this sensing device saidcasing is affixed to, and said longitudinal shells that form themeasuring and sensing tube are held in position by, one top and onebottom cap, then assembled.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth inpart in the following specification and in part will be obvioustherefrom without being specifically referred to, the same beingrealized and attained as pointed out in the claims hereof.

Within these objects, and for this purpose, the invention. broadlyprovides said measuring and sensing device as a combination of at leasttwo shells composing said tube on an axial middle plane of same. Saidshells are prepared in a procedure requiring no machine-tooling, forinstance, by pressing, drawing, or injection molding. Theseshells havepreferably semicircular cross section. They correspond to each othersymmetrically regarding the discharge openings and also regarding thepartition wall, they interlock within themselves. The end portions ofsaid shells are attached to, and meet each other in, corresponding boresprovided in the closing and assembling terminal caps. These caps connectand close the casing and said measuring and sensing tube, and haveoutside hollow and outwardly ridged extensions for the connectionthereto of influx and discharge conduit hoses.

The said shells are combined to form said measuring and sensing tube.They may be made already with the discharge openings and theintermediate wall. Their production may be by casting or by a simpleother forming process. They can be prepared by way of pressing orextraction from a flat strap of material, or by injection molding forexample of a suitable plastic material.

In assembling the device, it is generally sufficient to have said shellsheld and compressed together within corresponding cylindrical boresprovided in said terminal caps of the device. For specific reasons, inanother embodiment of the invention, said shells may be additionallycemented together on the surfaces on which they contact each other.

It is within the purview of this invention to provide terminal capscapable of receiving and compressing together the shells. In these capscertain sections, such as internal bores are conical in shape. The innerbore surface of said caps making contact with the assembled shells pressthe shells one against the other to adhere mutually and free from leaks.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the components are readilymountable together to compose the device according to the invention.Their assembling is a quick and simple operation. First, the internalmeasuring and testing tube provided in its upper portion with saidpartition is prepared. It has regularly peripherally distributed camsaround the walls of said shells extending sidewardly toward the innersurface of the tubular casing. This measuring and testing tube can bereadily introduced into said casing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The construction of the deviceaccording to the invention, the effect of said cams and other involvedcharacteristics of the invention are explained in more detailed examplesof the invention, in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a partial longitudinal sectional view of the completelyassembled device according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a large scale vertical sectional view of the invention inwhich the central bore has a slightly conical shape;

FIG. 3 is a large scale longitudinal sectional view of the upper portionof the device according to the invention taken on the level of theintermediate wall attached to the vertically inserted measuring andsensing tube;

FIG. 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line A-A of FIG. 3,and

FIG. 5 is an extended sectional view of the device according to theinvention, in the process of being assembled.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The invention comprises acylindrical casing 1 made of a transparent material. Closing terminalcaps 2 are in threaded engagement on the end portion of the casing 1.These terminal caps 2 continue outside in tubular ridged extensionsserving for attachment of discharge and/or influx hoses (not shown). Thebottom extension defines an inlet bore 3 which serves for the influx andthe upper extension defines a discharge bore 4 for the discharge of thefluid the streaming of which is to be sensed and/or measured by thedevice according to the invention.

In the interior of the casing l in assembled state, said terr'ninal caps2 are provided with tubular central bores 5 serving for receiving andaccommodating in assembled condition the abutting shells of themeasuring and sensing tube 6. The tube 6 has a diameter smaller thansaid casing 1. This measuring and sensing tube 6 is sidewardly providedwith discharge openings 7 and above same with a tapering outlet slot 8.

Above the outlet slot 8, there is provided a partition wall 9 thatcloses the top of the tube 6, for separating the measuring and sensingsection of the tube 6, from the upper space of the casing 1. Above saidinter- I two shells or longitudinal tube sections 60 and 6b whichcombine to form said tube 6. The shells are provided with a series ofsymmetrically and regularly distributed discharge openings 7, with saidoutlet slot 8 and with said regularly peripherally distributed centeringprojections 11. These projections 11, together with the inner wall ofthe casing l, delimit said outlet space. In the sensing and measuringregion of said tube 6, a sliding floatable sensing body, such as a ball,12 is arranged as shown in FIG. 1.

In FIG. 2 the bores 5 in the terminal cap 2 are shown as conical.Theyserve to move towards each other the shells when the device isassembled to form the tube 6. The shells make contact along contactingsurfaces 13. The terminal caps 2 are tightly screwed upon said casing 1and this screwing fixes in their positions all the components of thedevice according to the invention.

The semi-tubular shells that complete the measuring and sensing tube 6may be injection-molded from a plastic material. During the respectiveprocess, also the discharge openings 7, the outlet slots 8, theprojections 11 and the elements of the partition wall 9 aresimultaneously cast. This provides for a greatly simplified fabricationand subsequent assembly.

The assemblage of the device according to the invention is performed ina manner apparent from FIG. 5. First, said semi-tubular shells are puttogether to form the tube 6, and the floating sensing body 12 isintroduced between them. Thereafter, these combined shells are insertedon their lower terminal 6' into the central bore 5 (or 5) provided inthe bottom terminal cap 2. Then the tube 6 is placed on the interior ofthe casing 1 together with its bottom terminal cap 2 and the latterthreaded to the bottom portion of the casing 1. Then the top section ofthe measuring and sensing tube 6 with the projections 11 is dulypositioned and centered within said casing 1. The top terminal cap 2 isthen fully screwed upon the casing 1, so that this cap 2 automaticallyreceives into, and embraces by its bore 5 (5') the top of saidsemi-tubular shells composing said measuring and sensing tube 6. Thebores are preferably tapered, as shown at 5. It is apparent that nospecific tooling is necessary to be applied for assembling the deviceaccording to the invention.

I wish it to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to theexact details of construction shown and described, for obviousmodifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire tobe secured by Letters Patent, is as follows:

1. In a fluid stream sensing device of the type having a transparenttubular casing including apertured terminal caps for inflow and outflow,and inside said casing a transparent measuring and sensing tube definingwith said casing an annular space in communication with said outflow,said tube having discharge openings intercommunicating between theinterior of said tube and said annular space, a sensing body operable tobe floated slidably arranged in said tube, the respective position ofsaid sensing body in said tube corresponding to the prevailingparameters of said fluid stream,

the improvement comprising said tube being disconnectably assembled ofat least two adjoining longitudinal tube sections, said terminal capsincluding internal walls defining bores the end portions of saidsections being surrounded and held in adjoining position by said borewalls. 2. The device of claim 1, wherein said bores in said terminalcaps are tapered thereby positively pressing said end portions of saidsections together in said adjoining position.

3. The device of claim 1, said sections being in contact with each otheralong predetermined contact surfaces, and an elongated discharge openingbetween said contact surfaces.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein said measuring and sensing tube isprovided in its upper portion with a wall closing the top of said tubeand with external peripherally distributed centering projectionsextending towards the inner wall of said casing and defining outletspaces communicating with said annular space and said outflow.

1. In a fluid stream sensing device of the type having a transparenttubular casing including apertured terminal caps for inflow and outflow,and inside said casing a transparent measuring and sensing tube definingwith said casing an annular space in communication with said outflow,said tube having discharge openings intercommunicating between theinterior of said tube and said annular space, a sensing body operable tobe floated slidably arranged in said tube, the respective position ofsaid sensing body in said tube corresponding to the prevailingparameters of said fluid stream, the improvement comprising said tubebeing disconnectably assembled of at least two adjoining longitudinaltube sections, said terminal caps including internal walls definingbores the end portions of said sections being surrounded and held inadjoining position by said bore walls.
 2. The device of claim 1, whereinsaid bores in said terminal caps are tapered thereby positively pressingsaid end portions of said sections together in said adjoining position.3. The device of claim 1, said sections being in contact with each otheralong predetermined contact surfaces, and an elongated discharge openingbetween said contact surfaces.
 4. The device of claim 1, wherein saidmeasuring and sensing tube is provided in its upper portion with a wallclosing the top of said tube and with external peripherally distributedcentering projections extending towards the inner wall of said casingand defining outlet spaces communicating with said annular space andsaid outflow.